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kynan's review against another edition
2.0
This book ponders some of the interesting new solutions and problems that nanotechnology may bring us. There's a kernel of a good escapist (as opposed to hard sci-fi) story here, starting with the get-you-hooked first chapter from the Moon Base perspective and then branching into three different locales (two Earth-based and the moon) with a few different characters that are iterated through for the rest of the story. There are a couple of sub-stories that are wound in with the overall plot that don't really add anything to the story and there's a somewhat bizarre twist to one of the main characters that actively detracts from the story.
The general shape of the plot was good, and the characters are somewhat interesting but every now and then there was a statement that blatantly contradicted information from earlier in the book, on one occasion earlier in the sentence. The characters too suffer from this problem and (relatively infrequently, to be fair) make completely out of character statements or decisions that brought me to a jarring stop while I tried to do the mental gymnastics to assimilate whatever just happened into my understanding of the people and their world. I don't want to give any specific example because they're rather spoilery, which is the annoying thing as these out-of-character moments often involved rather major plot points.
Finally, I listened to the Audible Frontiers version of this book, narrated by Jim Meskimen and, frankly, it was poor. It's read with almost no feeling whatsoever, it really felt slow and bland (I actually ended up listening to this on 1.5 speed about five chapters in because it was driving me crazy) and there are frequent changes in audio quality where pieces have been re-recorded for some reason. Mr Meskimen does manage to individually voice the characters but he frequently runs these individual voices into sentences following speech from a character, even if it's nothing related to that characters internal dialog.
This is an OK escapist thriller movie in book form and ultimately there was too much about this book that annoyed me to let me really enjoy it.
The general shape of the plot was good, and the characters are somewhat interesting but every now and then there was a statement that blatantly contradicted information from earlier in the book, on one occasion earlier in the sentence. The characters too suffer from this problem and (relatively infrequently, to be fair) make completely out of character statements or decisions that brought me to a jarring stop while I tried to do the mental gymnastics to assimilate whatever just happened into my understanding of the people and their world. I don't want to give any specific example because they're rather spoilery, which is the annoying thing as these out-of-character moments often involved rather major plot points.
Finally, I listened to the Audible Frontiers version of this book, narrated by Jim Meskimen and, frankly, it was poor. It's read with almost no feeling whatsoever, it really felt slow and bland (I actually ended up listening to this on 1.5 speed about five chapters in because it was driving me crazy) and there are frequent changes in audio quality where pieces have been re-recorded for some reason. Mr Meskimen does manage to individually voice the characters but he frequently runs these individual voices into sentences following speech from a character, even if it's nothing related to that characters internal dialog.
This is an OK escapist thriller movie in book form and ultimately there was too much about this book that annoyed me to let me really enjoy it.
agrajag's review against another edition
3.0
Both ends are fairly decent, but the middle is nonsense soup.
altruest's review against another edition
4.0
This book was great in the first half, but I have to say that the second half didn't keep the pace up from the first. I felt like the book should have ended about 100 pages before it did; the final stretch felt like there were obstacles made up just to make the book longer instead of naturally progressing from the story. That being said, I was pretty riveted for most of the book. Character development started out pretty on the nose (having a character named 'Can't wait', or repeating characteristics over and over until the reader gets it for example) but by the end of the book the main players are organically fleshed out to the point where I actually cared about their fates.
I did think it was funny how nanotechnology has become more popular now, but in the book it had to be explained completely to everyone other than the scientists.
I absolutely recommend.
I did think it was funny how nanotechnology has become more popular now, but in the book it had to be explained completely to everyone other than the scientists.
I absolutely recommend.
nickmiller's review against another edition
4.0
I liked these book. It hits most of the bases that I look for in a good Sci-Fi book. Good plot, suspense, character development and interaction. I wasn't particularly fond of the ending, and that's why I didn't give it 5 stars. It was a valid ending in its own right, but really was an ending for a book that was going to continue into a series. As a standalone novel, I don't feel like it was wrapped up nicely.
jjwalter2001's review against another edition
5.0
A great book! Interesting dissection of the potentials of nanotechnology - even more prescient since it was written over 20 years ago.
bytorsnow's review against another edition
5.0
5 nanocritters out of 5
This novel was published in the 1990s - pretty sure that's equivalent to about a hundred years ago for near-future hard sci-fi novels.
Yeah I was a little concerned going into this novel: how badly would it show its age? No references to the internet, or cell phones....
As it turns out, I found the inconsistencies to be nominal - certainly not enough to detract from a thoroughly engaging storyline. The setting alternates mostly between Antarctica and the moon, so tech/communications references for example were pretty specialized to these isolated locales.
This is a solid standalone sci-fi novel that manages to explore some pretty expansive themes. No sequels here, this is not the first in an unfinished series...which is to say it's kind of a refreshing change from much of what you'll see in bookstores today.
The pace is quick, as you'd expect from a book that's well under 400 pages in length. There are some interesting plot twists and turns along the way, and it all builds to an ending that I found to be completely satisfying.
If you're a fan of Kevin J. Anderson as I am, this one will probably be worth your while. If you've never read him before, then definitely check out his author's page - he'll let you know where to start! 🤔
This novel was published in the 1990s - pretty sure that's equivalent to about a hundred years ago for near-future hard sci-fi novels.
Yeah I was a little concerned going into this novel: how badly would it show its age? No references to the internet, or cell phones....
As it turns out, I found the inconsistencies to be nominal - certainly not enough to detract from a thoroughly engaging storyline. The setting alternates mostly between Antarctica and the moon, so tech/communications references for example were pretty specialized to these isolated locales.
This is a solid standalone sci-fi novel that manages to explore some pretty expansive themes. No sequels here, this is not the first in an unfinished series...which is to say it's kind of a refreshing change from much of what you'll see in bookstores today.
The pace is quick, as you'd expect from a book that's well under 400 pages in length. There are some interesting plot twists and turns along the way, and it all builds to an ending that I found to be completely satisfying.
If you're a fan of Kevin J. Anderson as I am, this one will probably be worth your while. If you've never read him before, then definitely check out his author's page - he'll let you know where to start! 🤔
ericlawton's review
1.0
Very bad writing. Characters are caricatures.
Very interesting ideas about nano technology and I did want to find out how it turned out, so skipped some of the more tedious bits, only to find that it just ended on a cliff-hanger with no sequel as far as I can tell. Not that I'd read one. The only conclusion it came to, I had already guessed long before the end.
A short story with enough filler to make a book.
Very interesting ideas about nano technology and I did want to find out how it turned out, so skipped some of the more tedious bits, only to find that it just ended on a cliff-hanger with no sequel as far as I can tell. Not that I'd read one. The only conclusion it came to, I had already guessed long before the end.
A short story with enough filler to make a book.
twitchyredpen's review
2.0
Could certainly be better. Parts of it seemed very long. Some parts were page-turners while holding it, but if I put it down, I didn't feel an urgency to pick it back up. It didn't become can't-put-it-down interesting until the end.
Perspective moves between different locations on Earth, on moon, or in space. I feel the whole Antarctic storyline could have been written out -- What does it provide other than more pages and another half a dozen characters? Someone for Erika to talk to, who could have been anywhere. Evidence that the nanocritters can evolve, which was seen in Erika's experimentation. Additional depth to the nanocritters in terms of repair/destroy, but since a) he never tells Erika anything he finds [including the evolution], b) the nanocritters are already a death threat, and c) the contaminated crew has been cleaned already by then anyway, it really doesn't move/affect the plot at all.
Based on the title and the cover art, my guess as the book got deeper was that it was going to end in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey/"It's full of stars" but it didn't. The ending wasn't particularly satisfying either; could have used a second epilogue 34-40 years after the first.
Perspective moves between different locations on Earth, on moon, or in space. I feel the whole Antarctic storyline could have been written out -- What does it provide other than more pages and another half a dozen characters? Someone for Erika to talk to, who could have been anywhere. Evidence that the nanocritters can evolve, which was seen in Erika's experimentation. Additional depth to the nanocritters in terms of repair/destroy, but since a) he never tells Erika anything he finds [including the evolution], b) the nanocritters are already a death threat, and c) the contaminated crew has been cleaned already by then anyway, it really doesn't move/affect the plot at all.
Spoiler
His records are incomprehensible anyway so they don't even help in the epilogue.Based on the title and the cover art, my guess as the book got deeper was that it was going to end in the vein of 2001: A Space Odyssey/"It's full of stars" but it didn't. The ending wasn't particularly satisfying either; could have used a second epilogue 34-40 years after the first.
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